Facebook will build a $299.5 million data center in Altoona, the first phase of what may become a $1 billion investment.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board on Tuesday approved $18 million in tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program for Facebook to create at least 31 new jobs at a qualifying wage of $23.12 per hour. Local incentives from Altoona also were approved Tuesday.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook evaluated several other sites before selecting the central Iowa location.

The initial phase of the 476,000-square-foot data center will be constructed to LEED gold standards in terms of energy-efficiency. It will feature an innovative outdoor-air cooling system and the latest in Open Compute Project computer server designs.

The 194-acre site in Altoona can accommodate up to two additional data center buildings that may be constructed in future phases of the project.

“We’re thrilled to become a part of the Altoona community and especially appreciative of all the partners who helped make this project happen,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of infrastructure engineering for Facebook. “Thanks to Iowa, we’re building the global infrastructure to bring the next billion people online.”

Gov. Terry Branstad said Iowa’s productive workforce and overall cost of doing business helps the state to win projects like Facebook.

“Today’s announcement further solidifies Iowa’s position as a destination for tech companies – from major data center operations like Facebook’s to the innovative start-ups we continue to see popping up around our state,” Branstad said.

Gov. Terry Branstad said Iowa's productive workforce and overall cost of doing business helps the state to win projects like Facebook.

"Today’s announcement further solidifies Iowa’s position as a destination for tech companies – from major data center operations like Facebook’s to the innovative start-ups we continue to see popping up around our state," Branstad said.

Have you found an error or omission in our reporting? Is there other feedback and/or ideas you want to share with us? Tell us
here.